Former foes in Africa open border

Leaders of Eritrea and Ethiopia clear the way for trade after 20 years

The leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea reopened crossing points on their shared border yesterday for the first time in 20 years, clearing the way for trade between the former foes after a stunning reconciliation.

Thousands of people from both countries watched one ceremony in Zalambessa, an Ethiopian border town that was reduced to rubble soon after hostilities between the neighbours broke out in 1998.

Soldiers and civilians waving Ethiopian and Eritrean flags lined the road as Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki opened the frontier in a ceremony broadcast live on Ethiopian TV.

“This is the happiest day of my life,” Ruta Haddis, an Eritrean from the town of Senafe just across the frontier, told reporters. “I never thought this would take place in my lifetime.”

Offer to end standoff

The war over their border and other issues killed an estimated 80,000 people before fighting between Eritrea and Ethiopia ended in 2000 in a contested peace deal. Tensions burnt on over the position of the frontier — until Abiy offered to end the military standoff this year as part of a package of reforms that have reshaped the political landscape in the Horn of Africa and beyond.

Ever since, landlocked Ethiopia has made it a priority to reopen roads connecting it to Eritrea, which has ports on the Red Sea.

The two leaders also opened another frontier crossing at Bure, Eritrea’s Information Minister Yemane Meskel said in a tweet.